May 28/11 11:19 am - BMX Supercross: Nyhaug 4th in Final

Tory Nyhaug of Coquitlam, BC narrowly missed the podium as he finished a career-best fourth place in the Supercross race at the 2011 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup event in Papendal, Holland.

The day started well for Nyhaug. In the opening qualifying heats, the 64 riders who survived Friday’s time trials raced three times in their own heat, and the Top 4 combined finishes would qualify for the quarterfinals, where the single-race elimination began.

Nyhaug easily cruised to the quarterfinals, finishing sixth, first and first of the opening heats to advance with the second best score of the group. In the single-race quarterfinals, Nyhaug placed second, rolling on to the semi-final.

In his semi-final race, Nyhaug went on to finish third of the 8-rider heat, advancing to the final medal showdown, a situation in which he had never been before. Nyhaug’s best results prior to today’s race in an Elite Supercross race was a 13th place in semi-finals, last season.

Despite a slow start in the final race, Nyhaug seized every opportunity to gain time and pass his rivals one at a time, moving from the eight to the fourth position before the last stretch. Unfortunately for the young Canadian star, the front of the pack had already sprinted away in line formation and it proved too difficult for Nyhaug to make the final pass that would see him reach the podium for the first time in his elite career.

Nevertheless a great day for Nyhaug, finishing fourth with his career best results amongst a star-studded field in the Netherlands. With the great placing, Nyhaug jumps to the sixth place of the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup standings, another career best.

Along with a third place at the Time Trials Superfinals in South Africa earlier this spring and the fourth place today, Nyhaug is quickly establishing himself as a serious contender and a rider to watch at the start gate.

Nyhaug, one of Canada’s BMX superstar and Olympic hopefuls, is showing a strong comeback after suffering from a ruptured spleen at the 2010 UCI BMX World Championships in South Africa.

Connor McCormack of Kelowna, BC crashed on the first of three qualifying runs and did not finish.

On the women’s front, no Canadian riders were entered in the event. Sarah Walker of New-Zealand came first across the line in the final, followed by Romana Labounkovà of the Czech Republic in second and Caroline Buchanan of Australia in third.

The track in Papendal, located at the Dutch Olympic training centre, has been described by most of the riders as one of most technical track on the tour.